Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski1, Álvaro Dowling2, André Luiz Calderaro3, Thiago Soares Dos Santos4, João Paulo Machado Bergamaschi5, Jorge Felipe Ramírez León6, Anthony Yeung7. 1. Center for Advanced Spine Care of Southern Arizona and Surgical Institute of Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Orthopaedics, Fundación Universitaria Sanitas, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. 2. Director of Endoscopic Spine Clinic, Santiago, Chile; Department Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. 3. Centro Ortopedico Valqueire, Departamento de Full Endoscopia da Coluna Vertebral, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 4. Regina Hospital, Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande Sur, Brazil. 5. Department Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; CLÍNICA ATUALLI SPINE CARE, Alameda Santos, 745, cj 71, Jardins, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. 6. Fundación Universitaria Sanitas, Clínica Reina Sofía - Clínica Colsanitas, Centro de Columna - Cirugía Mínima Invasiva, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. 7. Clinical Professor of Endoscopic Surgery, University of New Mexico School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery Albuquerque, NM, United States; Desert Institute for Spine Care, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: New onset of acute dysethetic leg pain due to irritation of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) following uneventful recovery from an expertly executed lumbar transforaminal endoscopic decompression is a common problem. Its incidence and relation to any risk factors that could be mitigated preoperatively are not well understood. METHODS: We performed a multicenter frequency analysis of DRG irritation dysesthesia in 451 patients who underwent lumbar transforaminal endoscopic decompression for herniated disc and foraminal stenosis. The 451 patients consisted of 250 men and 201 women with an average age of 55.77 ± 15.6 years. The average follow-up of 47.16 months. The primary clinical outcome measures were the modified Macnab criteria. Chi-square testing was employed to analyze statistically significant associations between increased dysesthesia rates, preoperative diagnosis, the surgical level(s), and surgeon technique. RESULTS: At final follow-up, Excellent (183/451; 40.6 %) and Good (195/451; 43.2 %) Macnab outcomes were observed in the majority of patients (378/451; 83.8 %). The majority of study patients (354; 78.5 %) had an entirely uneventful postoperative recovery without any DRG irritation, but 21.5 % of patients were treated for it in the immediate postoperative recovery period with supportive care measures including activity modification, transforaminal epidural steroid injections, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, gabapentin, or pregabalin. There was no statistically significant difference in dysesthesia rates between lumbar levels from L1 to S1, or between single (DRG rate 21.8 %) or two-level (DRG rate 20.2 %) endoscopic decompression (p = 0.742). A statistically significantly higher incidence of postoperative dysesthesia was observed in patients who underwent decompression for foraminal stenosis (38/103; 27 %), and recurrent herniated disc (7/10; 41.2 %; p = 0.039). There were also statistically significant variations in dysesthesia rates between the seven participating clinical study sites ranging from 11.6%-33% (p = 0.002). Unrelenting postoperative dysesthetic leg pain due to DRG irritation was statistically associated with less favorable long-term clinical outcomes with DRG rates as high as 45 % in patients with a Fair and 61.3 % in patients with Poor Macnab outcomes (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative dysesthesia following transforaminal endoscopic decompression should be expected in one-fifth of patients. There was no predilection for any lumbar level. Foraminal stenosis and recurrent herniated disc surgery are risk factors for higher dysesthesia rates. There was a statistically significant variation of dysesthesia rates between participating centers suggesting that the surgeon skill level is of significance. Severe postoperative dysesthesia may be a predictor of Fair of Poor long-term Macnab outcomes.
BACKGROUND: New onset of acute dysethetic leg pain due to irritation of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) following uneventful recovery from an expertly executed lumbar transforaminal endoscopic decompression is a common problem. Its incidence and relation to any risk factors that could be mitigated preoperatively are not well understood. METHODS: We performed a multicenter frequency analysis of DRG irritation dysesthesia in 451 patients who underwent lumbar transforaminal endoscopic decompression for herniated disc and foraminal stenosis. The 451 patients consisted of 250 men and 201 women with an average age of 55.77 ± 15.6 years. The average follow-up of 47.16 months. The primary clinical outcome measures were the modified Macnab criteria. Chi-square testing was employed to analyze statistically significant associations between increased dysesthesia rates, preoperative diagnosis, the surgical level(s), and surgeon technique. RESULTS: At final follow-up, Excellent (183/451; 40.6 %) and Good (195/451; 43.2 %) Macnab outcomes were observed in the majority of patients (378/451; 83.8 %). The majority of study patients (354; 78.5 %) had an entirely uneventful postoperative recovery without any DRG irritation, but 21.5 % of patients were treated for it in the immediate postoperative recovery period with supportive care measures including activity modification, transforaminal epidural steroid injections, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, gabapentin, or pregabalin. There was no statistically significant difference in dysesthesia rates between lumbar levels from L1 to S1, or between single (DRG rate 21.8 %) or two-level (DRG rate 20.2 %) endoscopic decompression (p = 0.742). A statistically significantly higher incidence of postoperative dysesthesia was observed in patients who underwent decompression for foraminal stenosis (38/103; 27 %), and recurrent herniated disc (7/10; 41.2 %; p = 0.039). There were also statistically significant variations in dysesthesia rates between the seven participating clinical study sites ranging from 11.6%-33% (p = 0.002). Unrelenting postoperative dysesthetic leg pain due to DRG irritation was statistically associated with less favorable long-term clinical outcomes with DRG rates as high as 45 % in patients with a Fair and 61.3 % in patients with Poor Macnab outcomes (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS:Postoperative dysesthesia following transforaminal endoscopic decompression should be expected in one-fifth of patients. There was no predilection for any lumbar level. Foraminal stenosis and recurrent herniated disc surgery are risk factors for higher dysesthesia rates. There was a statistically significant variation of dysesthesia rates between participating centers suggesting that the surgeon skill level is of significance. Severe postoperative dysesthesia may be a predictor of Fair of Poor long-term Macnab outcomes.
Authors: Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski; Albert E Telfeian; Stefan Hellinger; Max R F Ramos; Hyeun Sung Kim; Daniel W Hanson; Nimar Salari; Anthony Yeung Journal: Int J Spine Surg Date: 2021-12
Authors: Ji Yeon Kim; Hyeun Sung Kim; Jun Bok Jeon; Jun Hyung Lee; Jun Hwan Park; Il-Tae Jang Journal: J Clin Med Date: 2021-03-26 Impact factor: 4.241
Authors: Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski; Ivo Abraham; Jorge Felipe Ramírez León; Albert E Telfeian; Morgan P Lorio; Stefan Hellinger; Martin Knight; Paulo Sérgio Teixeira De Carvalho; Max Rogério Freitas Ramos; Álvaro Dowling; Manuel Rodriguez Garcia; Fauziyya Muhammad; Namath Hussain; Vicky Yamamoto; Babak Kateb; Anthony Yeung Journal: J Pers Med Date: 2022-06-29